Tolling necessary: States stuck with poor roads, few funds

The federal government must give states more options to fund transportation.

The critical transportation funding issues in Pennsylvania are well known.

The state needs an additional $2.5 billion a year just to keep up with our current transportation needs, let alone find money for building new bridges and roads.

It is a huge, growing problem punctuated by the fact that more than a year has passed since the federal government turned down the state’s application to toll Interstate 80 — which was suppose to give the state much-needed transportation dollars — and there is still no plan in place to pay for our transportation needs.

If that isn’t bad enough, there is concern that the state may see a reduction in federal funding this year as well. Estimates from the state Transportation Department range from $300 million to $400 million less, depending on how things shake out with the federal Highway Trust Fund. The $40 billion trust fund, built up mostly through taxes on gasoline and other motor fuels, is tapped to help pay for highway costs across the nation. Unfortunately, in recent years Congress has spent more on highways than has been collected in the fund and has poured general fund monies into it.

Because of the imbalance and because the law attached to the fund is set to expire Sept. 30, states are concerned there could be cuts. This brings us back to tolling.
If the federal government cuts back on the $1.5 billion it sends to Pennsylvania each year, then it cannot limit the ways our state tries to make up the difference. In particular, it must allow Pennsylvania to toll its interstates.

There are other ways Congress needs to help states. It must repeal the ban on using toll revenues to finance roads in the Appalachian Development Highway System. The current law prohibits states, such as Pennsylvania, from using toll-road revenues as matching dollars for ADHS projects.

Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin have introduced legislation to lift the ban. It is important for our state, Routes 22/322 between Harrisburg and Lewistown, for example, are part of ADHS, and improvements through the years have been funded through that pot of money.

With state officials saying — with no uncertainty — they will not consider a gasoline tax, the list of options for inceasing funding isn’t that long.

Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch reiterated to this editorial board last week that the federal government “must open the toolbox” for states trying to come up with solutions to their transportation funding woes.

Schoch heads a new 36-member Transportation Fund Advisory Commission, which is scheduled to present the governor with funding recommendations in August. Two options should be the ability to toll roads and use toll revenue from the turnpike toward matching funds for ADHS projects.

For Pennsylvania, increased transportation funding is crucial. A study from Transportation for America shows that nearly 30 percent of the state’s bridges, about 6,000, have problems. Another 6,000-plus locally owned bridges also are in bad shape. Add to that 7,000 miles, or about 18 percent, of state roads that are listed in very poor condition — and that does not include local roads.

With all that in mind, it’s time for the federal government to put tolling on the table for Pennsylvania and other cash-strapped states.